Half a Moon: 14 Days of Celebrating Women

The End - OZ - Shirley Bellinger

cmk418 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 03:50:49 GMT

Title: The End
Fandom: OZ
Character: Shirley Bellinger
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 126
Prompt: Day 13 - gravity
Summary: Shirley takes a walk

She walked with a purpose, nearly hurrying through the corridors as she prayed the words to the twenty-third psalm.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…

Her footsteps barely made a sound on the tile floor, drowned out by the sound of her own voice and that of the priest sent to accompany her on this journey.

He restoreth my soul…

She felt the sun streaming in through the windows. How remarkable to feel it now, flooding her with warmth.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.

It wasn’t until the gate swung open and the gallows was before her, waiting for her sacrifice, that she understood the gravity of the situation.

She was going to die.

Identity - Firefly - River Tam

cmk418 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 03:18:45 GMT

Title: Identity
Fandom: Firefly
Character: River Tam
Rating: G
Word Count: 172
Prompt: Phases - Day Eleven
Summary: River knows who she's been

Even though she was still the youngest person on Serenity, she could clearly see the phases of her life that had gone before.

There was the Girl before- Simon’s sister, getting into his hair, questioning their father with frightening regularity, a dancing, free-spirit.

There was the Student- she only felt fragments of this phase. So much of her time at the Academy had been blocked and she might have been fortunate not to remember some of the darker moments.

There was the Rescued Girl with the fragmented mind, also known to some as Crazy Killer Woman. She was devoted to and dependent on Simon more than ever, but she was afraid of her capabilities and the violence that lurked inside.

And then there was whoever she was now, a woman in a girl’s body, trying to piece together what she could. She looked out into the darkness of space and slowed her breathing.

Pilot. That’s who she was. Serenity’s guide, keeping her in the air with all the love that she had.

Simple Economics - OZ - Diane Wittlesey

cmk418 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:59:49 GMT

Title: Simple Economics
Fandom: OZ
Character: Diane Wittlesey
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 201
Prompt: Day 14 - Practical Women

Diane Wittlesey was nothing if not practical. When they told her that they would no longer pay for extra shifts, she knew she had to get the money somehow. The way she saw it, she was paying to keep food on the table and make sure that DeeDee had everything she needed to have as good a life as a correctional officer’s kid could have. And it wasn’t as if she was breaking the law, she might have been bending a few internal rules- rules, she might add, that were only a few months old. She wasn’t bringing in drugs, nothing that drastic. If a few piss-pots wanted to die a prolonged and quiet death due to lung cancer, it was their lives to lose. She always preached good self-control when she went down the list of rules- if they couldn’t live without a cancer stick, she might as well be the one to make a few bucks off of it, and as trashy as he was, she knew she could trust Scott Ross to make sure she got her fair share. It was simple economics, supply and demand.

All she needed was to be sure that she never got caught.

Some Knights - Game of Thrones - Brienne of Tarth

cmk418 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:36:31 GMT

Title: Some Knights
Fandom: Game of Thrones
Female Character: Brienne of Tarth
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 124
Prompt: Day 9 - Rescuing the Knight
Summary: Brienne & Jaime at Winterfell

She stood in front of Sansa and the Dragon Queen and testified on his behalf. She had no doubt they would have killed him.

In return, he’d given her the one thing she’d truly desired, a Knighthood. She didn’t believe it was real at first, but as Jaime continued to say the words, it sank in and her heart sang with the joy of it.

She wanted him to know how worthy he was. She wanted him to be able to realize the goodness inside of him, so she gave him the one thing she had left to give- herself.

As she stood by his side and begged him to stay, she came to the realization that some knights would never truly be rescued.

Sexism & Semantics - Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Kennedy/Willow Rosenberg

cmk418 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:13:55 GMT

Title: Sexism & Semantics
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (can also be seen as meta for Harry Potter)
Characters: Kennedy/Willow Rosenberg
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 320
Prompt: Day 13 - witch
Summary: Kennedy notices something while reading 'Harry Potter'

Kennedy was stretched out on the bed reading as Willow folded laundry. “Huh,” said Kennedy.

“What?”

“Did you ever think about the sexism that shows itself in the ‘Harry Potter’ stories?”

“What?”

“I mean, a big deal is made about what in the magical world equates to racism, I guess, with the muggle-born and the house elves, that sort of thing, but Hermione doesn’t realize that there is a far greater insult to her than the word ‘Mudblood’. Now, don’t take this personally, but I think if she thought about it, the greatest insult to her would be the word ‘witch’.”

“Excuse me?”

“Now, I don’t mean present company or any of those Coven members you bring around for tea sometimes. I’m just talking about the word.”

“She’s the brightest witch of her age.”

“Yes, and that’s an accomplishment. But Harry’s not even in Hogwarts and he’s told that he’s a wizard. And when you look at that word, it implies the best and brightest, the most capable.”

“Well, he did kill the Dark Lord. Sorry, spoiler alert.”

“I’ve seen the movies. But Ron’s a wizard too. And the thing is, Harry didn’t have to do really anything to be called a wizard. The most incompetent male student at Hogwarts is still a ‘wizard’ and the most competent female student is a ‘witch’ and she gets all the linguistic baggage the readers bring with that word.”

“Baggage?”

Kennedy saw the look in Willow’s eyes and knew to backpedal. “Most readers. For myself, I find witches to be hot, smart, and extremely capable. But seriously, how far is a witch going to get in a place that is generally known as ‘the Wizarding World’?”

Willow sat down on the edge of the bed. “Damn, you just ruined ‘Harry Potter’.”

Kennedy set the book aside. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Willow leaned towards her. “You’d better,” she whispered against Kennedy’s lips.

Prompt Challenge 14: Practical women, dust

heliopausa — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 12:59:08 GMT

Title: Rosie Cotton as was
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Character: Rosie Cotton
Rating: G
Word Count: 243
Prompt: Practical women, dust
Summary: Old kings are all very well

“Tch!” A vowelless click of distaste. “What’s all that clutter doing here?”

“Dad said...” Tolman’s voice wavered into silence. He looked entreatingly to his older sister; their father had been well and truly out-argued in the matter of the plans for the new settlement, out here east of Bree, and he had no wish to stir up his formidable mother’s anger again.

“He said that it’s from the old kings. It’s all their glory, he said, all their lost, cold splendour…” Primrose’s clear young voice unconsciously fell into her father’s soft, haunted cadences.

“Stuff and nonsense!” said their mother. “That’s your dad all over, Prim - I think he likes to be gloomy. All this place needs is a good clean-out.” She peered inside, appraisingly. “And a fire-place put in. And a window or two. Be nice for a young family. Hop to it, Robin – you too, young Tom. Get all that clattery old rubbish out of here and make some room for me to get rid of the dust.”

When their mother had decided… well… Brothers and sister turned to begin the inevitable long, cheerful day’s work.

“Keep it up like this, mum, and they’ll be making you mayor of New Delving,” Robin said some time later, hauling at what seemed to be the broken remains of an old chariot. “Soon as there’s enough of us settled here to be worth a mayor.”

“Mayor of Cotton Delving,” she replied. “Wouldn’t mind.”

Cycles - Game of Thrones - Daenerys Targaryen

cmk418 — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 03:04:33 GMT

Title: Cycles
Fandom: Game of Thrones
Character: Daenerys Targaryen
Rating: G
Word Count: 100
Prompt: Tides (Day 8)
Summary: It calms her to walk along the beach

She walks along the beach at Dragonstone, hearing the whisper of the waves as they gently lap against the shore. She loves this part of the morning, when the sand reveals everything that the tides have brought in over the course of a night. It relaxes her, not the sound of the water, but the idea that the natural cycles return that which rightly belongs to a place. Power goes through the same cycles- Baratheons take from the Targaryens, Lannisters take from the Baratheons, and one day soon, the tides of power will return a Targaryen to the Iron Throne.

Not Going to Make History - Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Willow Rosenberg

cmk418 — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 00:16:39 GMT

Title: Not Going to Make History
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Character: Willow Rosenberg
Rating: G
Word Count: 174
Prompt: Day 10 - Well-Behaved Women
Summary: Willow wasn't going to change

“Well-behaved women seldom make history” was a saying that Willow’s mother quoted often. She said that, but still purchased her teenaged daughter clothing more suitable to the first grade than to freshman year of high school and emphasized the importance of studying and good grades to get ahead.

When exactly was Willow going to find the time or inclination to do anything other than behave well?

Maybe, cultivating a bit of a bad girl vibe would turn a few of the boys’ heads, but what then? The same thing that happened now. Absolutely nothing. She wasn’t the type to wear leather pants and smoke cigarettes , no matter how many times she’d watched “Grease” and envied Sandy her ability to change. (And really, to change that drastically for a man seemed the opposite of history-making.)

She was lucky enough to have two good friends in Xander and Jesse and they didn’t expect her to be anything more or different than who she was. She might not make history, but she was okay with that.

Whatever It Takes - Game of Thrones - Daenerys Targaryen for Day Seven Prompt "Making Enemies"

cmk418 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 04:29:29 GMT

Title: Whatever It Takes
Fandom: Game of Thrones
Character: Daenerys Targaryen
Rating: G
Word Count: 105
Summary: Reflections outside of Kings Landing

She wasn’t going to be universally loved. She realized that. Not everyone was the Unsullied, so embracing of the freedom and protection that she’d offered. To break the wheel, to do what she needed to do, she was going to make enemies. Those that didn’t bend the knee would face her wrath. It was that simple. Her advisors knew what her plans were. They’d come with her this far on the journey and now they were counseling restraint? It was ludicrous to ask her to stop now, not when they were so close. Those at Kings Landing would bend the knee… or they would burn.

Activation - The Godfather Saga - Connie & Carmela Corleone - For the Day 6 prompt "Rising"

cmk418 — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 22:52:19 GMT

Title: Activation
Fandom: The Godfather Saga
Characters: Connie Corleone, Carmela Corleone
Rating: G
Word Count: 236
Summary: Making a loaf of bread becomes a life lesson

All her young life, Connie had been instructed on her place- stay quiet, be a good girl, keep her virtue and when she was old enough meet a nice Italian boy, settle down, and have kids. It wasn’t like with her brothers who were ushered into secret rooms and taught the family business.

She whined about it to her mother one day when they were in the kitchen making bread. “I wish I was a boy.”

Her mother sighed. “Come here. You know what happens when you don’t add yeast to this mixture?”

Connie shook her head.

“Your bread stays flat. It goes nowhere. These little tiny bits of yeast feed off the dough and help it to rise, but the circumstances need to be right, the time needs to be right. You add a little sugar to the mix to help it along and you get yourself a nice loaf of bread. Stay in the background, listen to what’s said and don’t comment, at least not right away, then you wait and when it’s the right time, you set things into motion in your own quiet way. The men talk a good game, but there’s no rising to the top without us. Remember that.”

Years later, when her father and two of her brothers were gone and Michael was threatening to make the family legitimate, Connie realized that it was finally her time to act.

The Moon - Batwoman - Alice for Day 5: Waning/Waxing

cmk418 — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:12:34 GMT

Title: The Moon
Fandom: Batwoman
Female Character: Alice
Rating: G
Word Count: 126
Summary: Alice thinks about the moon

“Waning and waxing, waning and waxing, waning and waxing,” Alice sing-songed.

“What’s that about?” Mouse asked.

“Thinking about the moon, my dear Mouse. How sometimes it seems larger and sometimes it seems smaller. Almost as if it ate something it shouldn’t or drank something it shouldn’t.”

Mouse giggled and poured her some tea.

“And I think that I am like the moon. When we first met, I was small, so very small, helpless. And now, thanks to you, my friend, I am so much larger, so bright, everyone can see by my radiance.”

“That’s beautiful, Alice.”

“But I think the time has come for me to show the world all of myself. And when that happens, no part of me will ever be in shadow again.”

Prompt Challenge 4: Legacy, Crescent

sidleypkhermit — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 20:55:57 GMT

Today's two prompts are

Legacy

and

Crescent.

Original post on DreamWidth:

halfamoon | Prompt Challenge 4: Legacy, Crescent

halfamoon.dreamwidth.org

Day One | Day Two | Day Three

2020 Welcome Post | FAQ | 2020 Prompts - full list

The Truth - Ainsley Whitly - Prodigal Son

cmk418 — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 03:19:00 GMT

Title: The Truth
Fandom: Prodigal Son
Character: Ainsley Whitly
Rating: PG
Word Count: 300
Summary: The incident that started Ainsley on her career in reporting

Ainsley remembered the first time she’d heard the news. She was eight years old. Her mother and Malcolm were in the other room.

“Malcolm, no, I forbid it,” her mother had said.

Ainsley strained to hear Malcolm’s response but either she was too far away or he was too quiet. It sounded like he was in big trouble though, and she was a little happy about that. Her mother had doted on her brother and everything that had gone wrong was somehow Ainsley’s fault. She caught the trailing edge of Malcolm’s whine, “But mom…”

“Your father is a murderer!” her mother yelled. Ainsley gasped, then slapped a hand over her mouth in hopes that nobody had heard her.

All her life she’d been told that her father was away, that he wasn’t coming back. She’d never known him and any photographs of him that had been in the house were either carefully tucked away or destroyed. Occasionally, she’d dream about a man with a soothing voice. She’d felt safe in those dreams, so she assumed they must have been about her father.

Now, she knew that her father wasn’t safe at all. She crept into her room, booted up her computer, and typed “Martin Whitly” into a search engine. Headline after headline showed up and she read accounts of her father’s crimes and watched videos of news stories about the murders, the arrest, and the trial. Over time, she began to appreciate the way the story spun out through the lips of the journalists, like a thrilling ghost story told around the campfire.

She would do that, she thought. When she got old enough, she would be the one in front of the camera telling those stories. Maybe one day another little girl would learn the truth. Thanks to her.

Half A Moon 2020: Catch-All Prompts/Requests Post

sidleypkhermit — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 20:50:47 GMT

halfamoon | And HalfAMoon is officially open!

halfamoon.dreamwidth.org

This is the catch-all post for prompting other creators and reccers to meet your needs for awesome ladies!

Leave a comment with the fandom and character, as well as a prompt or request for recs in whatever theme you want. Other people come through and either create or rec to meet the wish! Self-filling is welcome, if you get inspired after requesting.

The focus of the request should be on a woman character. One request per comment, please, to make it easier to find the requests.

Again, feel free to comment here and/or on the original DW post, and check out the DW comments for inspiration/requests you might be able to fill!

Event Recs Post

sidleypkhermit — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 20:38:56 GMT

halfamoon | Event Recs Post!

halfamoon.dreamwidth.org

Do you know a comm that runs lady-centric challenges? Is there a prompt meme focused on the ladies? Know of something happening now or in the future that would mean more lady-centric content?

Check out the recs over on the DreamWidth post, and feel free to post yours here and/or there! If you don't have a DreamWidth account, you can comment on DW with your LJ login through OpenID.

Prompt Challenge 2: Aimless Adventures, Silver

sidleypkhermit — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 20:18:40 GMT

Today's two prompts are:

Aimless Adventures

and

Silver.

Original post on DreamWidth:

halfamoon | Prompt Challenge 2: Aimless Adventures, Silver

halfamoon.dreamwidth.org

Prompt Challenge 1: Heroines & Heartbreak, Shadow

sidleypkhermit — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:23:06 GMT

halfamoon | Prompt Challenge 1: Heroines & Heartbreak, Shadow

halfamoon.dreamwidth.org

Text below:

Welcome to the first prompt for Half a Moon 2020!

Today's prompts are:

Heroines & Heartbreak

and

Shadow

No prompts are required, they're just here to provide the challenge if you need one. You can post your works as a response to this post or separately to the community, just remember to tag your works appropriately.

Please remember any works using a canon female character are welcome: graphics, gifsets, meta, links, fics, graphics, art, and recs.

2020 Welcome Post | FAQ | 2020 Prompts - full list

The Reluctant Heroine - Arya Stark - Game of Thrones

cmk418 — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:11:08 GMT

It was instinct, nothing more. Everything she’d been through had brought her to this moment. First Syrio Forel and then the Faceless Men, they’d turned her into a killer.

That’s what this was- a kill, another notch in her belt. True, the Night King had never been on her list, but in order to get to the rest of her list, she needed to go through him to survive.

She didn’t expect the accolades, to be treated like a heroine. She’d just done what anyone who’d had her training would do in her place. It wasn’t anything to be glorified.

Now that the Long Night had ended and she still drew breath, she couldn’t stay at Winterfell and bask in the adulation of the people she had indirectly saved.

There was still one name on her list.

It was time to go to Kings Landing, time to kill Cersei Lannister.

Welcome to Half A Moon 2020!

sidleypkhermit — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:32:28 GMT

As you may know, the wonderful tamsinwillougby has retired from managing the fest and an intrepid new team of moderators have stepped up to take on the project. This means that mod posts are now going up on the DreamWidth comm, but I'll be providing crossposts for LJ users!

To start off with, here's a link to the DW kickoff post with the fest schedule and full list of upcoming prompts — text under the cut.

halfamoon | Welcome to HalfAMoon 2020

halfamoon.dreamwidth.org

Welcome to HalfAMoon 2020

The wonderful tamsin has chosen to step down, but entrusted us with the comm. The us in question are rose_griffes, singedsun, and sharpest_asp.

We want to host a free-for-all prompt fest, which will go up on the 1st, and people will be able to ask for their favorite ladies to be given fic, art, recs, or any other fanworks that celebrate the lady in question!

Around the 8th, we'll open another post to do a friending meme, where people can try and find like-minded people to gush over their favorite ladies.

And, of course, we'll do our best to throw a masterlist up on the 15th when we declare amnesty for the rest of the year!

We wanted to give people a chance to set up some works for the coming fest and have two new prompt tables. So even though the Prompts will go up individually on the appropriate days, here's a preview of the full sets.

New Table One:
Day One: Heroines and Heartbreak
Day Two: Aimless Adventures
Day Three: The Story Behind the Villain
Day Four: Legacy

Day Five:

Day Six: Rise Up
Day Seven: Making Enemies
Day Eight: Bawdy Ballads for Awesome Ladies
Day Nine: Rescuing the Knight
Day Ten: Well-behaved Women
Day Eleven: Rascals and Rogues
Day Twelve: Wise Women
Day Thirteen: Witches
Day Fourteen: Practical Women

New Table Two (Lunar themed!):
Day One: Shadow
Day Two: Silver
Day Three: Reflection
Day Four: Crescent
Day Five: Waxing/Waning
Day Six: Rising
Day Seven: Dark
Day Eight: Tides
Day Nine: Astral
Day Ten: Eclipse
Day Eleven: Phases
Day Twelve: Gravity
Day Thirteen: Ice
Day Fourteen: Dust

Bonus Picture Prompt:

EARTHRISE FROM LUNAR ORBITER 1 On August 23, 1966

Bonus Quote Prompt: "Be both soft and wild. Just like the moon. Or the storm. Or the sea." —Victoria Erickson

Fills can be of any fanwork type, including meta, as long as they focus strongly on a lady (or ladies) within their canon.

halfamoon is closed!

tamsinwillougby — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:30:58 GMT

Thank you to sidleypkhermit for the great prompt posts!

And of course a big thank you to all of you who participated and filled this fest with life! I hope to see you again next year!

Multifandom Rec List: Twenty Fics and One Archive

tigerpetals — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 23:47:09 GMT

I didn't end up creating something this year as I'd hoped, so have a rec list instead! Some multi-fandom female-centric fics that have brought me joy. (But it's me, so most of these are Buffy, Star Wars, and crossovers/Fusions.) Full disclosure: some of these were written for me, so I'm a bit biased. Crossposted to the DW comm.

Crossovers

Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Firefly

A Friend to the Spirit by ChronicBookworm

River dreams of an angel, a girl like her. Gen.

Xena: Warrior Princess/Legend of the Seeker

Commanded by shopfront

Cara sets off to get Xena in line for Lord Rahl. F/F.

Fusions

Star Wars/Kingsman

Fulcrum: The forgotten files by Whenhopediesyoung

A series of peeks at Ahsoka's life in a Kingsman fusion. I've never watched the Kingsman movies, but this was delightful and sad. F/F.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Star Wars
Ahsoka the Vampire Slayer by Redrikki

A BTVS/SW fusion, wherein Ahsoka must contend with the worries of her Watcher and the presence of a new Slayer. Gen.

The Golden Girls/The Purge

The Funny Pit by Missy

The Purge fusion AU, in which the girls wait for Blanche. Gen.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Someone to Save by ChronicBookworm

Buffy goes back in time to save the world only to find she's arrived earlier than intended, with all the opportunities that brings. Buffy/Kendra.

silk ribbons by Snickfic

Drusilla, Faith, and a corset. F/F.

blurring the lines by kwritten

Buffy slips between worlds. AU where Tara lives. F/F.

flying by verity

Buffy, Willow, and dreams. Between seasons six and seven. Gen.

Five Summers That Never Were by Alixtii

A series of double drabbles, featuring Buffy and women I'd have loved her to fuck. F/F.

five things Tara forgot by gogollescent

Five scenes we didn't see. A Tara character study. F/F.

City Girls by Selena

Post-canon. Buffy and Dawn in Rome. Gen.

Cross to Bear by templemarker

Buffy collects crosses. Gen.

Star Wars

the in-between by darlingargents

Missing scene wherein Ahsoka gets a little help between battles.

Along Our Twisted Path by ambiguously

Ahsoka walks out of one dimension and into one that's familiar, but not quite the same. F/M.

Penumbra by buppypotato

Barriss is a mess. F/F.

Aphelion by buppypotato

In a universe where Sidious was stopped earlier, Ahsoka still needs to find herself post-Jedi Order. F/M/F.

flow in a perfect gale by kimaracretak

Sabine, Ahsoka, and sabers.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

i come with tbe breath of the dead by kimaracretak

A woman, the house that loves her, and the woman who comes back. F/F.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Encounter Darkness by Trobadora

Post-series. Anastasia pays the Jabberwocky a visit. F/F.

Bonus Site Rec:

When I entered Buffy fandom a few years late in 2005--back in the time when character archives were chugging along, right at the dawn of LJ--this was one of the first sites I knew and loved.

Blood and Honey - Buffy Summers Fanfiction Archive
https://web.archive.org/web/20040723032542/http://unruly.nu:80/lamia/honey/
https://web.archive.org/web/20040725093240/http://unruly.nu:80/lamia/honey/sitemap.html

Half A Moon Day 14

sidleypkhermit — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 20:53:48 GMT

Hello again, moon mission! Today's prompt is Goodbye, but this is not the end of Half A Moon 2019!

Posting for this year's challenge will remain open through the entire month of February, so please stick around, check out what others have contributed, swing by the friending meme, and browse back through the prompts if you're looking for inspiration. Cheers!

Half A Moon Day 13

sidleypkhermit — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 23:49:58 GMT

Don't call it a comeback. Today's prompt is Return.

Awesome Ladies Rec Meme

tamsinwillougby — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 11:10:16 GMT

Rec meme! You ask for recs and others provide.

All fandoms and all types of fanworks are welcome, as well as rec requests for canons or for certain tropes, as long as it's woman-centric.

Feel free to self rec.

Have fun!

Half A Moon Day 12

sidleypkhermit — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 05:00:27 GMT

Why was this prompt post so late? It's a Mystery!